They could have just cancelled the TC (Alexis boot) after James' evacuation, just like they did when Bruce left EI.

The "James' evacuation caused the F2" is bogus, IMHO. They either had the F2 twist in place since day 1 or they really didn't want Cirie to win. image

If there was an unbreakable 4-4 tie in the F2, I would wager that the F2 would have a challenge where the winner would be able to remove the juror of their choice, leaving a jury of seven (so long Ozzy or Nat).